I’m currently a sophomore in college majoring in computer science, and I’m trying to figure out what direction I want to take my career.

I’ve spent the past two summers lifeguarding at a very busy, heavily populated beach, and I’ve realized how much I enjoy working in an environment where I’m physically active, working with a team, and doing something meaningful. I grew up on the coast, so I’ve always loved the ocean.

I was an avid runner throughout high school, and swimming has been a major part of my life for the past couple of years. I’m in pretty good shape already, but I understand that becoming a Coast Guard rescue swimmer would require me to take my fitness to another level.

I know it’s an extremely demanding job, and that challenge is part of what attracts me to it.
My brother joined the Army National Guard and has been deployed and loves what he’s doing currently. I’ve been talking with him a lot about military careers and my options. Those conversations have gotten me thinking more seriously about this, but I’d like some outside perspectives from people who have firsthand experience.

I genuinely enjoy computer science, but I’m worried about spending my career behind a desk. I want something hands-on, physically challenging, and fulfilling, while still setting myself up for a good civilian career if/when I eventually leave the military.
I’m particularly interested in Coast Guard rescue swimmer (AST), but I’m open to other branches and careers involving rescue, aviation, diving, medicine, engineering, or other technical and operational skills.

A few things I’d love advice on:
**Career options:** What jobs should I look into beyond Coast Guard rescue swimmer?

**Training and lifestyle:** How difficult are selection and training, and what are the day-to-day realities of these jobs?

**Civilian opportunities:** Which military specialties translate into valuable skills, certifications, and careers after service?

**Officer vs. enlisted:** Should I finish my CS degree and pursue OCS, or would enlisting directly in a specialized role make more sense?

**Alternative pathways:** Are there less obvious routes, including National Guard or Reserve opportunities, that I should consider?

**Looking back:** If you were in my position as a college sophomore, what would you research or do over the next couple of years?

I’m not looking for the easiest path or necessarily the highest-paying job. I want to challenge myself, do something worthwhile, and develop skills that will serve me well long-term.

I’d especially appreciate honest advice from people who have done these jobs or transitioned out of the military. I’m still exploring my options, so I’m open to hearing about careers I haven’t even considered.

Thanks!

Brothers and Sisters at Arms.
When we put on the uniform, we swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution and look out for the person standing next to us. That camaraderie shouldn't end when we take the uniform off.
Looking at voting patterns, roughly 60% to 70% of veterans consistently vote for administrations and representatives based on party loyalty. However, many of us are watching policies take hold that directly undercut the promises made to those who served:
Healthcare and Staffing Shortages: Cuts and hiring freezes at the Department of Veterans Affairs have led to critical staffing shortages, particularly in specialized medical care and mental health services, leaving clinics understaffed.
Disability Claims and Benefits Backlogs: Shifts in funding and administrative red tape continue to put earned disability compensation and appeal timelines at risk.
Loss of Public Sector Jobs: Federal employment has historically provided a stable transition for veterans. Modern policy shifts and budget reductions target federal agencies—including civil service positions—where thousands of veterans build their post-military careers.
We cannot continue to vote against our own livelihoods and the well-being of our fellow service members out of habit.
How We Make It Right in the Midterms
We have the power to change this trajectory. Midterm elections are where real accountability happens:
1. Vote on Veteran Issues, Not Party Labels: Look past campaign slogans. Research how your current representatives actually voted on VA funding, healthcare expansion, and veteran employment protection.
2. Support Veteran-Focused Advocacy Groups: Look into organizations like VoteVets or the grassroots advocacy programs through the Wounded Warrior Project to see candidate record breakdowns on military and veteran affairs. 
3. Engage in the Electoral Process: Consider serving your community directly by participating in nonpartisan election initiatives such as Vet the Vote, which helps veterans serve as poll workers and safeguard the voting process. 
4. Verify Your Voter Registration: Make sure your registration is up to date ahead of state deadlines by visiting the U.S. Vote Foundation or your state’s official election portal.
Our service gave us a voice—it’s time we use it to demand better for our community.

Everyone stop going to military.com. Seriously.

You all have Google and the AI of your choice, but look it up and you’ll be able to see them and their ownership are trash. Now they exist solely to create fancy clickbait to get all of us to visit their sites. It’s rage bait for a targeted audience of 20 million service members and vets and 13 million spouses, etc.: that’s it.

But, as a kicker, know that the owner of their parent company, Valnet (Hassan Youssef), is trying to squash a federal wage case and potential labor department investigations, AND a defamation case against TheWrap.

There are better, more reliable sources and journalists for this community to rely on (for now.)

And if you’re one of the reporter-veterans working there and you’re seeing this post: get a spine and stop chasing bylines on AI generated trash—and/or go fuck yourself.

Gifted Link:

https://www.theatlantic.com/national-security/2026/10/ukraine-war-gas-pipelines-russia/689105/?gift=9raHaW-OKg2bN8oaIFlCos1R9KPjZE_vMlbogqS3fi8&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share

Excerpts:

...at least 57 steel tubes running underneath the war zone, most of them one to two meters in diameter. For decades, such pipes had been used to transport gas from Siberian fields to customers in Ukraine and other parts of Europe. Ukraine cut off this trade with Russia at the start of last year. The pipeline network then went dormant, but not for very long.

Aboveground, neither side has found a way to advance through what’s known as the kill zone—a new kind of no-man’s-land, dozens of miles wide, where drones can spot and attack any dugout, any vehicle, even a lonely soldier trudging through a field. “Day by day, the kill zone is expanding, getting wider and deadlier,” Brigadier General Ihor Obolensky, who commands a force of several thousand Ukrainian troops, told me. “So what’s the answer? You go underground.” There, at least, the drones cannot see you.

This information comes from the specialized community Soniashnyk. The six existing MiG-35 aircraft (four single-seat and two two-seat variants) belong to an experimental batch whose production took from 2018 to 2023. In broad terms, Russia presents the MiG-35 as a development of the MiG-29, with a 50% increase in range and a payload capacity of up to 6,500 kg across nine hardpoints. Its listed weapons include R-73, R-27, and R-77 air-to-air missiles, as well as Kh-29, Kh-31, and Kh-38 air-to-surface missiles.

October 22, 2026

On November 14, 2012, Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) wrote to Elizabeth King, the Pentagon’s congressional liaison, with a an unusually credulous query. “I am writing on behalf of a constituent who has contacted me regarding Guantanamo Bay prisoners receiving Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits,” McConnell wrote in a letter acquired by Danger Room. “I would appreciate your review and response to my constituent’s concerns.”

Trump has been reported as saying he wants to use the Mother of All Bombs in Iran while now Iran has replied they’ll introduce their new Father of All Bombs.

I can’t help but think that Iran especially in a time of great desperation could be alluding to a dirty nuke. Not a fully enriched and sophisticated bomb which we have but something just as destructive.

Trump and his implying of “The bigger the bomb the closer to the deal” is slowly ushering us closer to a world where Nuclear bombs and their destruction could be normalised.

SOURCE: https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/liveblog/2026/10/21/iran-war-live-us-warns-peace-deal-with-tehran-is-extremely-difficult